|
opinion:
our view
'Harry Potter'
inspires imagination parents shouldn't try to stifle
Harry Potter. The name seems harmless enough. He is a sprightly
young lad with spectacles and a dark mop of hair covering his
telltale sign of being a wizard, a scar of a lightning bolt.
Harry can do things
all kids wish they could. He can move objects, fly through
the English sky, and fight against the bad guys. But still,
some believe that he is evil.
With the recent
box office success of the book by J.K. Rowling turned into
a multi-picture movie deal, Harry Potter is taking his broomstick
to the moon. But some children are being left on the ground
because schools and parents worldwide are banning both the
books as well as the movies.
It's just a movie.
It's just a book.
But concerned parents
and priests think otherwise. They say reading the book or
seeing the movie will turn children to the occult. Themes
of death, evil and hatred are depicted in such a way that
they go against the teachings of the Bible.
We think this is
bologna.
Children are indoors,
on playgrounds, reading books. They could be doing the socially
inept thing and sit behind a computer all day, playing games
on the Internet instead of playing in the sunshine.
But they are doing
the responsible thing, finding something they enjoy, namely
"Harry Potter," and opening their imaginations.
So the child has a sense of creativity, God forbid. Ban any
instances of free and independent thought. We have let this
become the American way.
Harry helps his
friends, and he's a nerdy guy who turns out to be a hero of
sorts.
Seeing "Harry
Potter" will not make children try to pick up the kitchen
broom and jump off the roof. They will not summon their deceased
grandparents on an "evil" Ouija board or cast spells
with a wand.
But let them read.
Be thankful your children are literate. In a time where literacy
is not necessarily a social trend, we are grateful that we
were given the opportunity to read "Choose Your Own Adventure,"
and "Nancy Drew." Let their minds soar, and they
will thank you later.
Many things in
the world are worse than "Harry Potter." Stifling
a child's imagination is one of them.
|
